Garcés-Conejos Blitvich, P. (2021). Getting into the mob: A netnographic, case-study approach to online public shaming. In M. Johansson, S. Tanskanen, & J Chovanec (Eds.), Analysing Digital Discourse: Practices of Convergence and Controversy, pp. 247-274. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Getting into the mob: A netnographic, case-study approach to online public shaming Pilar G. Blitvich University of North Carolina at Charlotte Abstract This chapter aims to explore online public shaming (OPS). OPS, smart mobs, digilantes have received interdisciplinary attention but with few exceptions, researchers have taken a theoretical, macro-level approach. However, micro-level approaches may shed more light on OPS by helping us get “into the smart mob”. Approaching the data – user-generated comments triggered by a case of OPS in the USA - from a netnographic and case study perspectives, the chapter examines whether the structural and temporal aspects of OPS and its defining features, as posited by extant research, remain consistent when contrasted with the results of a micro-level analysis. Results problematize the temporal progression of OPS incidents, especially the ending stage, and evidence that contradicts prior scholarship on OPS is presented. Further, the chapter makes a strong case for micro-level analysis to complement macro-level views on OPS and for approaching this phenomenon from a socio-cultural situated perspective. Key words – online public shaming, smart mobs, digilantes, racial micro-aggressions, human flesh search engines. 1. Introduction In the USA, despite different origins and goals, “call out culture” and “cancel culture” are often grouped under the “outrage culture” rubric which finds its expression mostly through online public shaming (OPS) (Romano, 2019). Whereas, canceling usually targets celebrities or personalities, this chapter focuses on other targets of OPS: private citizens, who become infamous overnight. In the last ten years, OPS has received considerable attention from an interdisciplinary perspective, i.e. sociology, law, criminology, psychology, computer science, information technology, but with very few exceptions (see Cheong & Gong, 2010; Skoric et al. 2010; Basak et al.,2019), this scholarship has taken a macro-level approach to the data. Although interesting insights have been drawn from the bulk of this work, these need to be contrasted with results of micro-level analyses that bring us into the mob. To that end, a case study of OPS is presented. This case involves Alan Schlossberg (AS), a lawyer practicing in New York City, and what was perceived as his racist rant against people speaking Spanish at a restaurant in Manhattan in the spring of 2018. The husband of one the women involved posted a video of the incident to his Facebook feed. It went viral and triggered a massive reaction in hypermedia